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Delmarva Fox Squirrel Potentially Harmed by Climate Change Authors cite possible threats to forest habitat and reproductive cycle |
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| Frostburg, Md. (October 4, 2007) - While habitat loss and forest fragmentation have contributed to the demise of the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel, researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science are predicting that climate change could provide yet another obstacle to restoring this unique species to Maryland's Eastern Shore. In an article recently published in the scientific journal Biological Conservation, UMCES Appalachian Laboratory researchers Dr. Robert Hilderbrand and Dr. Robert Gardner warn that recent increases in fox squirrel populations could be at risk because of shifting weather patterns resulting from climate change. |
 Left: Endangered Delmarva fox squirrel Right: Common Eastern gray squirrel |
| The Delmarva fox squirrel thrives in stable environments with ample food sources and habitat to support their populations. But, if climate change brings greater annual and year-to-year variation in precipitation and temperature, researchers believe that there could be a negative impact on the productivity and health of the squirrel's preferred habitat and reproductive cycles. "If our climate changes as predicted, scientists expect to more frequently see consecutive years with similar weather patterns such as droughts," said UMCES Appalachian Laboratory researcher Bob Hilderbrand. "Should this happen on the Delmarva Peninsula, squirrel populations could significantly decrease, as the already reduced population could lose more squirrels and have trouble recovering." Delmarva fox squirrels can be locally abundant, but they are geographically restricted to the Delmarva Peninsula and therefore vulnerable. Since future climate is difficult to predict with certainty, Hilderbrand and colleagues suggest that available habitats should be maintained or even increased to allow for an uncertain future. "The Delmarva fox squirrel is yet another local example of the losses we may experience if we fail to address the global issue of climate change," said UMCES Appalachian Laboratory Director and co-author Robert Gardner. The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is the principal research institution for advanced environmental research and graduate studies within the University System of Maryland. UMCES researchers are helping improve our scientific understanding of Maryland, the region and the world through its three laboratories, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg, and Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, as well as the Maryland Sea Grant College. |
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University
of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceP.O. Box 775, Cambridge, MD
21613 410.228.9250This page last
updated
October 4, 2007
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